"Reality coming back in waves" for Fairfield beach residents

Published 12:21 am, Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Jeff Valko, right, stands in the living room of his home on Fairfield Beach Road, which was damaged in storm Sandy, on Monday, November 5, 2012. Valko's first floor was destroyed.

Jeff Valko, right, stands in the living room of his home on Fairfield Beach Road, which was damaged in storm Sandy, on Monday, November 5, 2012. Valko's first floor was destroyed.

Photo: BK Angeletti, B.K. Angeletti

Image 2 of 8

Birch Road home owners begin to clean up after storm Sandy on Monday, November 5, 2012 in Fairfield, Conn.

Birch Road home owners begin to clean up after storm Sandy on Monday, November 5, 2012 in Fairfield, Conn.

Photo: BK Angeletti, B.K. Angeletti

Image 3 of 8

National Guards stop drivers on Reef Road in Fairfield, Conn, as residents begin to clean up after storm Sandy, on Monday, November 5, 2012.

National Guards stop drivers on Reef Road in Fairfield, Conn, as residents begin to clean up after storm Sandy, on Monday, November 5, 2012.

Photo: BK Angeletti, B.K. Angeletti

Image 4 of 8

Fairfield residents begin to clean up after storm Sandy on Monday, November 5, 2012.

Fairfield residents begin to clean up after storm Sandy on Monday, November 5, 2012.

Photo: BK Angeletti, B.K. Angeletti

Image 5 of 8

Fairfield Beach Road homeowners begin to clean up after storm Sandy on Monday, November 5, 2012 in Fairfield, Conn.

Fairfield Beach Road homeowners begin to clean up after storm Sandy on Monday, November 5, 2012 in Fairfield, Conn.

Photo: BK Angeletti, B.K. Angeletti

Image 6 of 8

Fairfield, Conn. residents begin to clean up after storm Sandy, on Monday, November 5, 2012.

Fairfield, Conn. residents begin to clean up after storm Sandy, on Monday, November 5, 2012.

Photo: BK Angeletti, B.K. Angeletti

Image 7 of 8

Robin Richtarich logs the belongings from her Birch Road home in Fairfield on Monday, November 5, 2012. Richtarich's first floor was destroyed during storm Sandy.

Robin Richtarich logs the belongings from her Birch Road home in Fairfield on Monday, November 5, 2012. Richtarich's first floor was destroyed during storm Sandy.

Photo: BK Angeletti, B.K. Angeletti

Image 8 of 8

"Reality coming back in waves" for Fairfield beach residents

1 / 8

Back to Gallery

FAIRFIELD -- The streets near Fairfield Beach are lined with large piles of memories. There are water-damaged couches, stoves, refrigerators and dollhouses.

Most residents living on the beach have had to throw away numerous items after Superstorm Sandy brought in waves of water and caused flooding on the first floors of their homes.

"It's hard to see some of our dreams go in the Dumpster," Pat Bigge, 71, of Birch Road, said Monday afternoon. "Everything is gone."

Residents started cleaning out their homes last week, but many suspect that they won't be able to move back in for months. In addition to the flood damage, they do not have electricity or heat.

Beth Bigge, Pat's daughter, sat on a chair in the "throw-away" pile outside their house on Birch Road with a small white cockapoo in her lap. She's trying to figure out where she, her mom and the dog could stay for two or three months. She made phone calls to hotels, but said any short-term rental would do. "We feel like refugees," Beth said.

Around the corner at the Wahnquists' home on Edward Street, men covered from head to toe in white hazmat suits were cleaning out the crawl space and first floor of their house, ruined by water that was saturated with oil and sewage, they said.

"It's stuff -- it's just stuff. We'll rebuild it and get new stuff," said Janet Wahnquist as she looked at the pile in front of her house.

Jeff Valko, a Fairfield Beach Road resident, had workers in his house spackling his water-damaged walls. Friends and family members helped him move items, such as a large plastic-wrapped Bible, out of his garage to the upper level of his house.

The Bigges, Wahnquists, Valko and other neighbors did not expect Sandy to impact their homes the way it did.

"In 50 years, water has never come into the house," said Eileen Milazzo, a Birch Road resident.

Many residents evacuated the area Oct. 28, the Sunday before the storm. When they returned last week, they did not expect to see so much water. "I came back here in a canoe," said Janet Wahnquist.

Valko took a kayak to his house, he said. He found his hot tub under water.

Now, the water is gone, but the streets are dirty, dusty and full of large trucks and tractors. There still are trees and wires down, and military workers are stopping each vehicle and checking identification cards to see who's coming into the area.

Figuring out what insurance will cover also has been a challenge. Valko was able to get money to repair damage to the structure of his house, but not the items inside it.

Each day, the Bigges try to clean up their home and try to figure out what to do next, they said.